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Act 89 / Federal Programs » Equitable Participation

Equitable Participation

Students enrolled in nonpublic schools that have been evaluated in accordance with federal (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) and state (Chapter 14) regulations and determined to be students with a disability who require specially designed instruction can access Equitable Participation services. Evaluations can be conducted by either the school district of residence or by an IU. If eligible, services available are not an offer of FAPE(Free Appropriate Public Education) and an IEP(Individualized Education Plan) is not developed by the IU or nonpublic school. Only the school district of residence can offer FAPE through development of an IEP. The nonpublic school is not required to implement any IEP developed.


IDEA requires that intermediate units make provisions for children with disabilities who are parentally placed in nonpublic schools. Funds available to support these students are based on child count of students identified and in need of specially designed instruction but enrolled in nonpublic schools. The child count is conducted annually in the fall.


Services offered through Equitable Participation are determined annually through consultation with parents and nonpublic schools. Following this annual consultation process, the menu of services for the upcoming school year is developed. The current services provided based on this consultation process are:

  • Speech/Language
  • Hearing and/or Vision
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy